


Langen Messer

by AlanSchezar



Series: The Weimar Tales [3]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003)
Genre: Action, Drama, Espionage, F/M, Intrigue, Romance, Suspense, World War II
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 06:12:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11663283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlanSchezar/pseuds/AlanSchezar
Summary: As Europe teeters on the brink of war, the Weimar Republic crumbles, and the Third Reich creeps insidiously toward total control of Germany, Edward confronts a malevolence whose depths he can't fathom. When freedom becomes an inconvenience to the State, Edward learns the terrible cost of opposing men who are both powerful and without conscience.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Although this project is on the back burner for the moment while I work on my Zootopia series, I really like this series enough that I wanted to share the latest installment. Updates may be a long time in coming, but I firmly believe I will one day finish all of my planned FMA stories. Enjoy!
> 
> PS. In case anyone didn't know and was wondering, the title is "Long Knives" in German.

The dust lay thick on the polished oak surface of the abandoned desk. Silence and an ominous pall of foreboding hung about the disused office like the clouds of Cavendish smoke its former occupant once produced. Why did he keep coming back here? Ed wasn't sure; it was a depressing atmosphere to say the least, made all the more poignant by the keen loss he felt at the absence of his dear friend and erstwhile mentor. Still, he thought, the fact of Albert Einstein's absence from the University of Berlin meant that he was, at least presumably, safe from the darkness creeping inexorably over the face of Germany like the relentless encroachment of twilight.

It had been nearly a year since the professor had abruptly departed his seat at the head of the Physics Department. The vitriol and silent little persecutions of the Nazi establishment had become too much to bear. Of course he had characterized his trip to America as "merely a vacation", but Ed knew otherwise; Einstein saw the writing on the wall, and departed while he could. It was a clever move, and standing now in his empty office, Ed wondered if he shouldn't have done the same.

The professor had begged him to come along with Alphonse and Noah. America is a different world, he had said, where such things as Jewish religion or gypsy blood didn't matter. Still, Ed felt bound to Germany, to the mission for which he had sacrificed his entire life in Amestris: the recovery of the Uranium bomb. He wished with all his heart to escape to the land of the free with Noah and Al, to forget Germany and its growing malevolence, but still he remained, chained by his pitiless sense of duty.

"Herr Professor Elric," said a voice from the corridor. The words echoed through the room and died away. Hans Schwartz, an intern in the chemistry faculty, was standing in the open door way.

Ed started and glanced back over his shoulder, "Y...yes Hans? What is it?"

"Forgive the intrusion, but the Dean would like to see you in his office... _immediately_."

"Oh?" Ed said, turning to face the young intern, "What about?"

Hans merely shook his head, a mixture of fear and regret seeming to battle for primacy on his face. He abruptly departed, disappearing down the hall beyond the door without another word.

Ed sighed and cast a final, wistful glance around the derelict room before turning and exiting, shutting the door behind him.

He was surprised to find the air tinged with a faint haze of acrid cigarette smoke as he entered the Dean's office; Herr Burgmeister was not in the habit of smoking.

The source of the noxious vapor quickly became obvious; the Dean sat hunched in his chair, flanked by two men dressed in the inky black uniform of Heinrich Himmler's _Schutzstaffel,_ the taller of whom took a long draw on his cigarette and cast a languid, disinterested glance in Ed's direction as he entered _._ Ed shut the door quietly behind him and glanced over the two ominous figures.

The man on the right was a short, stocky figure with a grim, chiseled face, rough, scarred skin and a nose that appeared to have been broken more than once. His savage, deep set eyes were dark and glimmering beneath his prominent brow. He wore a wedge cap with the skull and crossbones insignia of the SS embroidered on the front beneath the Nazi eagle.

The smoker was a much taller, slender man with pale blonde hair cropped close against his head, deep blue eyes, pale, almost porcelain-like skin that was perfectly clean shaven. His features were far less harsh than that of his comrade, with high cheekbones and a prominent, sharply sloping nose. He wore a peaked cap with the same SS insignia, denoting him as an officer as opposed to an enlisted man like this companion. His uniform, indeed everything about his appearance, gave the impression of ruthless precision and cold calculation.

"Ahh, Herr Professor Elric, I presume? What a delight to finally meet you," the tall, smoking man said, standing fully upright and crushing out his cigarette on the Dean's desk, without of course having the benefit of an ash tray. He stood sharply to attention and delivered the Nazi salute, "Heil Hitler!"

The Dean, much to Ed's disgust, scrambled to his feet and repeated the loathsome salute, as did the scar-faced goon.

Ed crossed his arms, "You must forgive me, you have me at a disadvantage, Herr...?"

A look of dismay tinged with rage washed over his pale face and was gone, only to be replaced by a horrid, disingenuous smile a moment later, "Obergruppenfuhrer Karl Wolff, at your service, Professor. This is my colleague, Obersturmfuhrer Gunther Brandt." He gestured to his companion, who answered with a crooked grin and a low grunt.

"And what exactly is the 'service' that brings you here today, gentlemen?" Ed said, glancing from one to the other, though his suspicious gaze continually returned to Wolff's unnatural and unnerving smile.

"Well, I suppose I shall be direct with you, Herr Professor. Partly because of your own merits as a scientist, and partly because of your well known association with the discredited and departed Jew Scientist, Einstein, and again partly because of your, shall we say, unhealthy interest in a certain object and... _in a certain person_...you have become a concern to Reichsfuhrer-SS Himmler, and by extension, to the Fuhrer. However, you are not without... _admirers_ among the ranks of the State, and so a benefactor who prefers to remain anonymous has asked me to visit you.

"It seems your position here at the university has become... _untenable_...and so he wishes to offer you alternative employment with the _Schutzstaffel_ in our research division." Wolff's entire monologue was interspersed with drags on his cigarette and punctuated with more crocodillian smiles.

Ed scowled in response, glancing at the Dean, "What the hell do you mean 'untenable'?"

"The University of Berlin is a prestigious and venerable institution, Professor Elric. A member of the faculty must be a superlative example of the _ubermensch_ and be above reproach in his actions, his thoughts, and his affinities..." Here Wolff produced a small manila envelope from his tunic pocket, opening it and withdrawing a stack of photographs which he slapped down in the middle of the desk blotter in front of the Dean. They were of Ed and Noah together, and were obviously taken surreptitiously by SS surveillance. "What a pity that you show such unwholesome affection for a _filthy_ gypsy woman..."

Ed snarled and clenched his steel fist, stepping forward and cocking it back, intent on smashing it through Wolff's smarmy face, but he halted mid step as he heard the chilling sound of a safety catch being disengaged and felt the gun's muzzle pressed against his temple. He glanced sideways to find Gunther grinning malevolently looking as if he was thrilled at the idea of splattering Ed's brains all over the office. He froze, waiting for the end.

Wolff sneered and waved a hand dismissively at Brandt, who scowled but obediently engaged the safety and holstered his pistol again.

Dean Burgmeister, who was visibly trembling in his seat, looked at Ed with dejected, terrified, pleading eyes, "I think...you really should go, Professor Elric...your things will be mailed to you tomorrow..."

"That's it?! You're just going to let these Nazi bastards come in here and push you around like this?!"

"Please Edward! _For pity's sake...!_ " Burgmeister looked like he was about to wet himself as he glanced at the backs of the SS thugs.

"Tsk, tsk, Herr Elric," Wolff interjected, pointedly dropping Ed's academic title, "You really should reconsider the generous offer we are making to you...you really must consider the consequences of your stubbornness...to yourself and to—"

" _STOP_ _right there,_ _Nazi!_ Or that gun won't be enough to save you from me!" Ed hissed, his fists clenching again. He cast a final glance at the Dean and shook his head in disgust and dismay before turning sharply on his heel and stalking from the room, slamming the door behind him.

Wolff smiled and lit another cigarette, "Such a pity..."


	2. Chapter 2

The humidity was oppressive. Dark clouds gathered overhead, heralding the arrival of an early summer storm. Ed didn't immediately head home after his chilling encounter in the Dean's office. He found that his natural hand was shaking from the flood of adrenaline. Instead, he wandered around the grounds for a few minutes, collecting his thoughts. It seemed he was rapidly running out of options as the Nazi regime tightened its noose around Germany's neck. As much as it irked him, he began to realize that if he stayed in Germany, continuing to hunt for the Uranium bomb, there would be only one path left to him, and it would end with his grave, and probably Noah and Al's as well.

He strode across the street to his favourite cafe, taking up a seat against the back wall, facing the front door. He ordered an espresso and downed it faster than usual, unable to keep himself from glancing nervously at the door and windows, overwhelmed with the unnerving feeling that he was being watched. Before the coffee was gone, he knew; they had to get out.

The sun was all but devoured between the turbid clouds and blood rimmed horizon by the time he finally arrived home. He had taken a weaving, erratic route across the city to evade possible pursuers, although he realized of course it was futile; they were well aware of his address. Still, it made him feel better doing _something_ to confound the Nazi bastards all the same. What had begun as a misting of gentle rain had progressed into a torrential downpour, so that Ed was drenched as he finally pushed open the door of the flat.

The looks on Noah and Al's faces as he came in gave him pause; they were in the sitting room together when he arrived, not speaking, and they sprang to their feet as he stepped in the front door. He could see Noah sitting in the chair by the bow window as soon as he entered; she took a hesitating step toward him when their eyes met, as if she wanted to dash into his arms but was restraining herself. He shed his coat in the hall, stopping into the kitchen to wring out his hair in the sink. When he finally entered the sitting room, the downcast look on his face must have convinced her, because she stepped forward and wrapped him in her arms.

"Hey...sorry to keep you waiting. Is everything okay?" he asked, his voice subdued. He glanced at Al, who stood wringing his hands, looking hesitant and uncertain.

"I...I got fired today. Two men in trench coats who identified themselves as Gestapo walked in right in the middle of the class and handed me the dismissal papers. They said it was for associating with 'undesirables'..." Al said. He paused before continuing, "The students didn't make a sound; they were terrified. I asked them not to do whatever they were planning to do in front of them, to take it outside. In the end, they just grabbed me by my collar and threw me out of the building, and that was that. Brother..." Al trailed off, sighing and looking out the window.

Ed already knew what Al was thinking. He drew back slightly, brushing a lock of Noah's hair from her face. She looked up at him with pain in her gaze, as if she was reproaching herself for being Romani and bringing such persecutions on them. He felt suddenly ashamed; it was really his pride and his damned sense of duty that had placed the most precious people in his life in this mortal danger. He had waited too long, striven too hard after Kroenen, Thule and the Uranium Bomb, and now he'd led them all into a den of wolves without even realizing it.

"They fired me today too," he said, glancing at Al, who wore a look of sheer bewilderment, "Said my 'affinities' were 'unwholesome,' the bastards. Burgmeister just sat there like a pathetic lump and let it happen." He didn't try to hide his disgust for the Nazis and their vile ideology.

"Maybe...maybe if I leave..." Noah began.

"No!" Ed replied gently but resolutely, "No...I won't let you face these monsters alone. We're all in this together, whatever happens. I'll figure out a way to get us out. Maybe if we can manage to send a message to Marko, he can help us out...get us to the border of Switzerland or something."

Noah managed a smile as she looked up at him, squeezing him a little tighter in response.

A faint smile crossed Al's lips and he nodded, "Thanks, Brother." He sighed heavily, gesturing toward the small dining room which was still set with the evening meal, "Dinner is probably still warm, if you care to join us?"

Ed shook his head, "No thanks, Al...I've lost my appetite. I could use a drink though."

They tried their best to pass the rest of the evening in lighthearted conversation of happier times, but a pall hung over them. Noah was the first to retire, leaving Ed and Al to talk over glasses of brandy. They resolved that by the end of the week, they had to be out of Germany. They would liquidate everything they could and buy tickets to Switzerland, and from there make their way to England and on to America. Ed had heard Einstein was well established there and would be able to put them in touch with the right people to contribute to the opposition to Hitler's regime. The matter being decided, Al turned in at half past ten, leaving Ed with his second glass of brandy and a few favourite books he had pulled from the shelf.

Ed was roused from a fitful, dreamless sleep by a chill breeze blowing from the bow window, the air tinged with a faintly acrid smell. He blinked and stretched his legs, moving the open book from where it had fallen on his chest and setting it on the side table. How long had he been sleeping? The mantle clock read twelve forty five. The curtains of the sitting room window swayed slightly in the breeze.

Groggy, he rose from his chair and moved toward the window. As he drew closer, the acrid smell grew stronger and more familiar. He was about to push the window closed when he was seized by the icy grip of an unspeakably horrible realization; he didn't leave the window open. As his heart plunged into his stomach, he noticed that someone was standing on the sidewalk opposite his building. Looking down, he saw the angelic, yet diabolical face of Karl Wolff staring up at him from beneath the peak of his officer's cap; the familiar acrid smell was the cigarette he was smoking. Brandt stood beside him like an obedient ape, grinning up at the window as Ed appeared. Brandt was holding an overcoat and forage cap, yet they were both themselves wearing overcoats...

Ed choked back a cry of unbridled horror; the cap and coat belonged to another member of the _Schutzstaffel_ – one who had entered through the window and was inside the flat with him at that very moment.

His body rebelled, frozen by mind bending terror, but Ed forced himself to move by sheer power of will. He screamed silently at himself to move, to get to Noah, to save her and Al from the murderous assassin who had already been there for God knows how long. He turned and dashed for her bedroom door.

Ed's mind was racing; it had to be someone incredibly agile – able to scale the front of the building with ease – someone who knew the place – someone sadistic, because they had left him sleeping peacefully, left the window open to wake him, to draw him into this living nightmare – was it the _someone_ that Wolff had mentioned before? – _someone he knew already_...

Ed grasped the door knob and forced himself to turn it, flinging open the door and stepping inside. His heart nearly stopped at what he saw.

It was Karl Ruprecht Kronen; he was dressed in a black jumpsuit, his chest covered by a strange mechanical breastplate. There were daggers strapped to both his upper arms, as well as his thighs, and an SS dirk hung from his belt. His sinister black mask glinted in the dancing light of the dying fire in the hearth beside the door. He was straddling the bed, standing on the edges of the frame and staring in deathly silence at Noah's peacefully sleeping form. He held a pair of strange short, double edged, double ended swords whose handles were at right angles to the blades about two thirds of the way along their length. The one in his right hand was raised and hung suspended, trembling slightly, poised to plunge through Noah's heart.

" _KROENEN!_ " Ed screamed, snatching the poker from beside the fireplace to the right of the door and lunging at the ticking demon before him.

Kroenen whirled on him with an inhuman utterance that resembled an animal snarl, slashing viciously with the sword in his left hand. Ed barely managed to deflect the strike, hooking the poker around the back of Kroenen's neck and throwing himself backwards, planting his boot in Kroenen's chest and hurling him through the door and into the hall.

Kroenen slammed into the wall, but to Ed's amazement, managed to right himself, landing on all fours with all the agility of a cat. He regarded Ed with a quizzical, inhuman tilt of his head, then stood and spun his blades, raising them and preparing to lunge forward. Noah, who had awakened with a terrified scream, was cowering in the corner of her bedroom, staring in disbelief, her eyes like saucers.

The breathless moment was interrupted by a chair shattering over Kroenen's head, followed by Al slamming into him with a furious leaping kick, sending him sailing down the hall and into the parlor. Al, still clad in his pajamas, glanced at Ed, gritting his teeth though his eyes bore a look of unspeakable dread, "Brother, come on!"

Ed scrambled up from the floor, following Al into the parlor just in time to see Kroenen extricate himself from the shattered scrap of a side table. He rose to his feet and spun his blades, their razor edges glinting in the flickering light of the dying fire.

In the dim light, Ed could see his own terror stricken face reflected in the black, lifeless lenses of Kroenen's mask. He lunged for the pair of Prussian cavalry sabres displayed above the mantelpiece, a gift from Max Planck on his last visit that Ed found too ironic not to mount on the wall. He was extremely glad now that he did. He tossed one to Al, who caught it and promptly ripped it from its scabbard and pointed it at Kroenen. Ed readied his sword, adjusting his grip as he tried to shake the feeling he was in for the fight of his life.

Kroenen dashed toward them like a whirling dervish, blades singing through the air as he unleashed a rapid, chaotic barrage of slashes. Ed and Al found themselves dodging, weaving and parrying feverishly to avoid being cut to ribbons. Ed sidestepped a thrust and countered with a quick slash of his own, only to have Kroenen twist his other blade around and block it. Al sidestepped, slashing low at his foe's leg, but Kroenen's blade flashed down to meet it. Sparks flew as the whirling clash of blades continued.

Al narrowly avoided having his throat slit by a quick strike, twisting his sabre hilt upward just in time to stop it with his blade. Ed threw himself at Kroenen with a fierce slash, pushing his left hand against the spine of his sword, driving Kroenen back. The clockwork horror weaved as he deflected the blade, knocking it from Ed's hand and sending it singing across the room where it clattered behind an armchair and vanished from sight. Instantly, Kroenen kicked Ed's leg out from under him, driving him to the floor. Ed slammed onto his back, opening his eyes just in time to see the tip of a blade rocketing toward his face. He barely managed to snap his head to the side in time, the sword embedding itself in the floorboards. In a flash, Ed grabbed the handle, pinning Kroenen's hand and springing up from the floor, driving his boot into Kroenen's mask with a loud thud.

Kroenen stumbled back, losing his grip on his blade, though he still held the second. From out of nowhere, a furious Noah, who had emerged quietly from the bedroom after throwing a dress over her night gown, lunged into the fray and grabbed the nearby gramophone with both hands. She smashed it over Kroenen's head. "Have your gift back, bastard! _Te del o Del, džućhela te ćeren o abjav katar će kokala!"_ she screamed, cursing him in Romani.

Seizing the precious opportunity, Ed and Al rushed forward together, throwing themselves into a simultaneous leaping kick. Both strikes slammed into Kroenen's chest, knocking him clear off his feet and sending him crashing through the bow window behind him. He sailed through the air in a cascade of shattered glass and splintered wood, slamming into the roof of a parked car across the street, crushing it and blowing out the windows.

Ed stepped to the broken window sash, planting his foot defiantly and shaking his automail fist at the Nazis below. "Chew on that, you goose-stepping pigs!" he bellowed.

Al grabbed Ed by the collar and yanked him so hard he landed flat on his back. He had been about to open his mouth to chew out his brother when a hail of gunfire erupted from the street and bullets riddled the blown out window where he had just been standing. He glanced sheepishly at Al for a moment, then scrambled onto all fours, yelling over the gunfire, "We need to get out of here, now! I'm not sure that's enough to stop Kroenen!"

Al nodded, half-running, half-crouching back to his bedroom and hastily throwing on a jacket and trousers over his pajamas. Noah was pulling on her boots in the entrance when Al emerged, mostly dressed.

The gunfire had ceased, but Ed wasn't convinced it was actually a good thing. He darted to the liquor cabinet and flung open the doors, grabbing a bottle of gin and unscrewing the cap.

"Ed, what are you doing!?" Al yelled, his hand poised on the door knob.

Ed glanced at him, then pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and jammed it down the neck of the bottle. A grim look passed over Al's face, but he swallowed hard and nodded his silent approval. Desperate times…

"Get going! Head up to the roof – we can jump across to the next building so they won't know where we went." Ed said, moving quickly to the kitchen and rummaging through the drawers in search of a lighter or match.

"What about you!?" Al pleaded, not wanting to leave his brother behind even for a few minutes.

"I'll be right behind you, _just go!_ " Ed shouted back, his face a mask of fear, "If...if I don't make it, you keep her safe, you understand me, Al!?" He glanced down as his fingers brushed over what he was looking for. He snatched up the old trench lighter, a knick-knack he'd picked up at some rummage shop, and struck up the flame.

Al led the way, his sabre still tightly clutched in his hand, and cautiously stepped into the hall, checking both ways. It was empty. Noah followed and Ed backed out behind them, touching the flame to the now liquor-soaked cloth. He flung the Molotov cocktail into the apartment and it shattered on the rug in the parlor, the flames quickly spreading over the floor and licking at the walls. He hesitated a moment, struck by a pang of grief at having to burn the home that, for all that had transpired, was nevertheless the setting of many happy memories. His hesitation ended when he saw Kroenen's spidery form emerge from the window opening, the light of the rising flames dancing over his polished mask with its dead, reflective black lenses. Ed stepped back and slammed the door, turning the key in the lock and throwing it away. Together, they ran for their lives.

They burst through the door onto the roof, its rusty hinges giving way under the brothers' combined weight. They rushed out onto the roof and into the driving rain, pausing to listen and consider their next move. To their horror, intermittently, half obscured by the steady pattering of raindrops, the distant sounds of gunshots and screams met their ears.

Ed crept to the edge of the roof, putting the awful implications of those distant sounds from his mind for the moment; he found himself very thankful he lived in the old part of Berlin, as here the streets and alleys were narrower – they could easily make the jump across the alley onto the next block of flats.

Moving back, Ed dashed across the roof and leaped over the gap, landing solidly on both feet on the far side. He turned and motioned for Noah to do the same; she followed suit, easily clearing the alley. Finally, Al waited for them to clear away and jumped the gap himself.

They stealthily rushed across the roof and jumped the next alley onto a third building. Here the gap on the far side proved too wide to easily jump. Ed looked down into the alley; it was mostly deserted, but his heart nearly jumped into his throat as he noticed a pair of SS Stormtroopers clad in black uniforms, Swastika arm bands and wedge caps standing at the nearest end of the alley. Submachine guns were slung behind their backs and they were smoking and talking nonchalantly; they were probably part of the cordon meant to keep him, Al and Noah from escaping. He paused a moment, catching his breath and considering his options; it was then he noticed that the fire escape ended just above their heads.

He glanced at Al, pointing at the two guards and leaning close to whisper, "We sneak down the fire escape and take them both out at once...a sharp blow to the back of the head ought to do it. The noise of the rain should give us at least a chance." Al nodded, tightening his grip on the hilt of his sabre.

As quickly and noiselessly as possible, they descended the staircase. Noah remained at the top, hidden behind a chimney stack near the edge of the roof. She peered over and watched them as they inched closer to the SS men. Upon reaching the final platform of the fire escape, Ed placed his boot on the edge of the railing and silently counted on his fingers, holding them up for Al to see. On three, they sprang from the balcony and plunged down onto the unsuspecting Nazis. Two loud cracks echoed off the alley walls as Ed's automail fist and the pommel of Al's sword hit their marks. The two SS thugs crumpled to the ground in a heap. Noah scrambled down the fire escape to join them as soon as the guards were knocked out.

Ed and Al grabbed them and dragged them back into the shadows of the rain soaked alley. Ed put on one of their caps and tossed his overcoat in a dumpster, quickly unbuttoning the first guard's tunic. Al hesitated, but quickly caught on to Ed's idea. He began stripping the other guard and before long they were both dressed in the caps, tunics, trousers and jackboots of a couple of _Schutzstaffel_ Stormtroopers. They dumped the guards in the bin as well, closing and latching the lid. Ed grabbed the submachine guns and handed one to Al.

Cautiously, they peeked out of the alley, looking down both sides of the street. They were now on the street that ran behind their building, a quiet, narrow road dating back to medieval times. Not far down the road on their side, a black 1930 Mercedes sat parked under a street lamp. "Perfect..." Ed breathed, beckoning Noah and Al to follow.

He crept down the street, gun at the ready, until he was beside the car. He glanced around furtively, then raised the butt to smash the window, but Noah's hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Wait!" she whispered sharply, "A broken window will attract attention later...let me..." Ed stepped aside and she crouched by the door, giving a tug on the handle; it was locked. Pulling a pair of hairpins from behind her ear, she deftly slipped them into the lock, wiggling them around carefully. After a few seconds she tugged the handle and the door opened.

Ed and Al stood up, trying to look as much like Nazi storm troopers as possible while shielding Noah behind their backs. She reached under the dash and pulled out a few wires, then cut them with a small knife she tugged from a garter sheath under her skirt. After a few false starts, the engine roared to life.

"Get in!" Noah said sharply, throwing open the rear door and clambering into the back seat. Al jumped in beside her and Ed jumped behind the wheel, already putting the car in motion as the doors slammed shut. He drove off at a rapid pace, heading for the edge of the city. As they sped away through the sheeting rain, Noah turned and peered out the back window, holding her breath. Seeing they were not pursued, she loosed a sigh and slumped down in her seat, her head resting against the top of the seat back.

After a few minutes of silence, when the lights of their street and the growing flames from their burning flat had been swallowed by the tempestuous darkness, Ed glanced in the rear-view and smirked faintly, "So, Noah...I was kind of wondering where you– "

" _No, Edward!_ This is not the time..." she smacked him on the arm, but she couldn't repress a slight smirk.


	3. Chapter 3

The car was a fragile haven, its protection more imagined than real, as they rumbled on through the sheeting rain. They peered deep into the darkness, unblinking, on alert for any sign of the Nazis. For a long time the silence was unbroken except by the engine, the wipers, and the relentless pattering of the rain.

At length, Al spoke up, "Brother, who was that man? You knew him..."

Their eyes met in the rear-view mirror, and Ed could see there wouldn't be any evading the subject. He looked back to the dark road ahead, releasing a faint sigh. "His name is Doctor Professor Karl Ruprecht Kroenen," he said, his fingers clenching a bit tighter around the wheel, "I first met him on my trip to Munich with Professor Einstein. He had the shell of the Uranium Bomb, but the core was removed...I suspected he was a member of Thule, and he showed me his Nazi Party lapel pin – he asked me to join them. I didn't realize he was a member of the _Schutstaffel as well..."_

" _What!?"_ Al said, his brows furrowing in consternation, "You knew that murderous freak four years ago and you didn't even say anything to me about it!?"

Noah shot Ed a savage glance in the rear-view from her place in the back seat beside Al, "Why didn't you tell me…? I was alone with that... _that monster_...you never mentioned a word of any of this to me in all this time! You let me keep that damned gramophone in our flat, Edward!"

A pained expression crossed Ed's face and he averted his eyes from hers back to the road, "What difference would it have made? Should I have subjected you to the kind of nightmares I've been having for the last four years when there's nothing we could have done to escape him?"

"We could have left Germany, like Albert said!" Noah pressed, her fierce Roma temper emerging as her swarthy cheeks flushed in anger.

Ed suddenly veered to the side of the road, stopping the car and whirling around in his seat to face them. The haunted look on his face silenced them. He sighed faintly before he spoke, his voice low and ragged, "I'm sorry for the danger I've put you in...I didn't think they'd really go this far...but you need to understand; I saw the bomb in The Gate; _saw it explode..._ "

Al and Noah glanced at one another, then back at Ed; his eyes seemed to glaze over slightly, his gaze wandering as if he was reliving that dark vision.

"That bomb is like nothing you can imagine; it can vaporize tens of thousands of people _instantly,_ reduce entire cities to piles of ash...but that's not the worst of it...I think the power of the atom can probably be used for even worse things than just killing people."

Al's brow lowered as he stared at his brother, his own mind racing with awful possibilities, "Worse things?"

Ed seemed to come back to the moment, his gaze fixing again on Al, "Based on my work with Einstein and the unified field theory, I think atomic power could possibly be used to manipulate the fabric of space-time...maybe even tear open holes in the universe. We're responsible for that thing being in this world in the first place, Al...when you know what I've seen… the pictures in my head, can you really blame me for not wanting to give up the hunt?"

Al seemed about to answer when his eyes fixed on something over Ed's shoulder, outside in the rain streaked night. "Oh... _shit_..." he breathed.

Ed glanced over his shoulder; out ahead of the car, a pair of flashlights approached through the darkness. Within moments, they passed under a street light about a hundred meters away and Ed could see they were carried by SS troopers.

Noah's eyes went wide in horror as she saw them, then she suddenly grabbed Ed's arm, "Ed, hit me!"

"W...what?! _No!_ " Ed stammered.

"Hit me, damn it, and _save us_! Just do it, _PLEASE_!" Noah said, squeezing his arm and pleading with her eyes.

Ed hesitated a moment, clenching his automail fist; suddenly he back handed her across the mouth, drawing blood that ran down her chin. It was sickening to have to strike her, but he realized what she intended.

He felt wetness in his eyes, but she shook her head at him, gently squeezing his shoulder, " _Again!_ " He clenched his teeth and struck her again across the cheek. He looked at his steel fist, a few droplets of her blood spattered over his knuckles, and he wanted to vomit. "I'm sorry..." he said, his voice an agonized whisper.

She looked directly into his eyes, giving a slight nod and a smile, "It's okay, Ed...they're getting closer...remember I'm your prisoner..."

She slid her hands behind her back, feigning that she was bound, and slumped over in the seat, trying to look as pathetic and ravaged as possible.

Ed swallowed hard and turned around in his seat, furtively wiping his eyes before the soldiers got too close and noticed. A few more steps and they were on either side of the car. Ed rolled down the window, looking into the cold, chiseled face of one of the troopers. "Heil Hitler!" he said, tossing the loathsome salute as nonchalantly as he could. The Nazi thug responded in kind, his highly polished boots clicking together as he did so. Ed slid his right hand down beside his leg a little further to hide his automail.

"Where are you headed, Unterscharführer? We had not expected anyone this way," the young soldier said, peering in the car. "Are you having some trouble?" he asked, glancing at Noah.

"We caught this Gypsy bitch yelling slurs about the Fuhrer. My orders are to take her out to the woods and shoot her," Ed replied, trying to sound as genuinely brutal as possible.

"She started to give us trouble, but we fixed her, don't worry..." Al said with a crooked grin. He grabbed Noah's hair and yanked her head back, displaying her injuries to the two thugs outside the window. After a moment, he pushed her head back against the car door with a sneer of disgust. Furtively, he fingered the trigger of the submachine gun in his lap in case their ruse wasn't convincing enough.

"We have been told not to permit any vehicles to leave this sector..." the soldier said, glancing at his partner on the other side of the car, who shrugged carelessly in response.

Ed glared at the soldier, "Perhaps you wish to take this up with Obergruppenfuhrer Wolff in person? He is the one who gave the order...or perhaps ask Doctor Kroenen, since they are together at the moment."

A look of sickly horror washed over the trooper's face and he started back from the window slightly, "Ah..oh, no, of course I wouldn't question the Obergruppenfuhrer's orders...sorry to trouble you, Unterscharführer!"

"Good! Thank you; I'd like to go dump this whore's body in a ditch so I can get back to my warm bed, yes?" Ed said with a dry chuckle, all the while fighting the urge to shoot them both dead in the street like the rabid dogs they were.

The soldier stepped back and sharply gave a salute, "Heil Hitler!"

Ed saluted back and pressed the accelerator, eager to leave the checkpoint behind him, but unable to drive as fast as he wanted for fear of arousing suspicion. Before long, the lights of the city were swallowed by darkness and all of them breathed a collective sigh of relief. Noah smiled and gave Ed's shoulder a squeeze. He didn't look back.

It seemed they had been driving for hours in darkness amid the relentless patter of rain when Ed realized the gas tank was perilously low. He couldn't be sure where they were; the countryside was impossibly dark, the sky blanketed with inky rain clouds. They would have to hide the car somewhere and seek shelter if the engine died.

"Damn it..." Ed breathed, smacking the steering wheel; it seemed they were a million miles from anywhere.

"Brother, look!" Al interjected, pointing to several lights ahead of them, "Another checkpoint?"

Ed leaned forward, peering over the steering wheel as he slowed the car slightly. Slowly, he shook his head, "No, I don't think so...they seem to be stationary...a house maybe?"

Within a minute they rolled up to the source of the lights and found it to be a large barn, somewhat remote, behind a gate. They couldn't see any farmhouse through the wind and rain. Ed parked the car alongside the road and stepped out, leaving it running in case of a hasty retreat. Cautiously, he approached the gate and found it latched but unlocked; it seemed big enough to permit the car to pass through. He opened it and stepped into the farmyard.

He crept to the barn door, gun in hand, and tried the latch – it opened and the door slid open slightly. He peered inside and saw nothing. Pushing the door open further shed the light over the interior, showing it to be a storage barn piled with old farm equipment and stacks of hay; it was more than big enough to hide the Mercedes.

He stepped into the pool of light cast by the lamp above the door, waving for Al to bring the car in. Within moments the car rumbled inside; they backed it into a disused stall, leaving the headlights burning to illuminate the shadowy interior of the barn. Ed stole out to shut the gate, then he and Al pushed the barn door closed.

Instantly, they felt warmer, having shut out the rain and the terror that had dogged their flight from Berlin. Ed turned from the door to see Noah standing in the middle of the barn, awash in the headlight glow. She was smiling at him, but he could see the cut on her lip, the smear of blood, the bruise forming on her slightly swollen cheek. An agonized look descended on his features as he stared at her.

Al glanced from Ed to Noah. He patted Ed's shoulder and gave a faint push in Noah's direction, at the same time heading off to a pile of hay nearest the door. "I'll stand watch," he said, knowing when to make himself scarce.

Ed slowly approached her with faltering steps. He reached out with his natural hand, tenderly caressing her cheek. " _I'm so sorry..._ " he whispered.

She shook her head with a smile, letting her eyes slip closed at his touch. She reached up and gently caressed the back of his hand, "No, I'm sorry...I could see it hurt you more than me. There was just no other way...it's not the first time for me anyway..."

He was overcome at that; he pulled her against his chest, wrapping her in his arms. "I'll never let anyone hurt you again… _I swear_..." he said in a broken whisper. She slid her arms around his middle, resting for a moment in the comfort of his presence.

At length she drew back. "We should shut off the lights and get some sleep," she said, glancing at the car, "We don't want to be discovered, and we'll have to get moving early tomorrow."

Ed nodded, stepping back slightly. His hand tenderly stroked down her arm until it grasped hers. He held on as he moved to shut off the headlights, then led her through darkness, amidst the patter of rain on the tin roof, to the mound of straw in the corner of the barn. Together they nestled into the crackling softness of the straw pile, their fingers still intertwined. She rested her forehead against his, feeling his other arm slide around her and pull her closer as she did.

"Are you sad about losing our flat, Ed?" she asked at length, feeling the warmth of his breath on her cheek.

"...A little," he admitted, "But it's not the first time I've watched my home burn. What about you…?"

He felt her head shake slightly as she squeezed his hand, "I'm Roma, Ed…houses and flats are just places to me, no different from any other place. My true home is right here..." She released his hand and gently pressed her palm against his chest, spreading her fingers. He could feel her smile. "It doesn't matter where we wander, as long as you let me stay..." she said, tilting her head to offer a tender kiss.

He returned it, snaking his fingers through her hair, drinking in her presence and letting it soothe away all the horror, grief and regret. Silence reigned for a time when their lips parted, and he felt sleep tugging at the edges of his consciousness. "I couldn't get you out even if I wanted to..." he said at length, finally succumbing to the rhythm of the rain and his own exhaustion, drifting into a peaceful sleep in her arms.


End file.
